This story that I share is not meant in any way to be political. It was written by well-known South Florida attorney Tom Equals about his experience as a war hero in Vietnam. I found his firsthand account to be compelling and felt the need to share.
We have been hearing a lot about the military and the concept of “legal” orders lately. Only one time was that ever an issue for me. I thought hearing this “war story” might help others in understanding the concept and why it is so important for the military. One physical truth of combat is that once you pull the trigger, you cannot bring the bullet back. Fortunately, everyone involved in the battle described below did the right thing. After reading this, just take a moment to think about what would have happened had it gone the other way.
This comes from the official narrative for the award for air medals for heroism to me and my 48th Assault Helicopter Company “Jokers” gun platoon leader Captain John Rodgers. Because the initial paperwork had become lost, the awards were also supported by an affidavit from General James Leslie.
In 1972, James Leslie was a Colonel and our combat aviation group commander in Vietnam. After Vietnam, he and I were both assigned to the Army Aviation Center, Fort Rucker, me as an instructor pilot and sometime later, Leslie as a newly minted general officer and Assistant Commandant, later becoming Commandant.
That day in Vietnam, we were leading a flight of Marine helicopters from their aircraft carrier into a hot landing zone. The gunship’s battle to secure the landing zone was intense but ultimately successful. However, one of the Marine pilots reported an enemy convoy on a road exiting the NVA controlled town of Hai Lang.
An order was issued to attack the enemy convoy, but when we focused on the convoy we could see it appeared to be composed of only civilians. We advised Colonel Leslie, and he immediately rescinded the attack order and ordered us to return to attack several newly active enemy .51 caliber machine gun positions.
After we finished, upon leaving the battle area, our fireteam did a fly by and checked out the fleeing refugees which turned out to be fleeing civilians only, mostly women and children. I was relieved that a tragic mistake had been avoided by not blindly following orders.
When we landed back at Marble Mountain Army Airfield the Colonel had his driver bring us directly to CAG HQ and awarded us the Air Medals with V device for heroism….on the spot. General Leslie expressed thanks for the fighting we did in the battle, but also, his deep gratitude that we didn’t just blindly follow his orders and reported facts that avoided a tragedy.
Thanks to my friend and war hero Tom Equals. Your service to our country is so greatly appreciated.
